Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Last Tuesday the State Senate engrossed a bill that would allow independent child care providers in Massachusetts the ability to form collective bargaining units for negotiations over state vouchers. H.3986, “An Act relative to early education and care by family child care providers”, would allow these home-based child care providers the opportunity to bargain with the state over voucher rates, which would ultimately be subject to the legislature’s final approval. This bill takes the extraordinary steps of unionizing contracted workers as employees of the state.

The legislation may seem like a simple solution to a straightforward problem, but I have deep reservations concerning the legal ramifications of the bill. Allegedly, the sole purpose of this legislation is to allow independent child care providers the opportunity to advocate for higher voucher rates, a measure that they can already accomplish by visiting the State House and meeting with legislators.

Unfortunately, the Senate Republican Caucus was unable to garner the support needed to strike down this bill, which passed by a 34-4 roll call vote.

In an effort to remedy the dilemma that has been raised, I offered an amendment to a supplemental budget during Monday’s formal session. The amendment would have gotten to the crux of the problem by creating a $25 million reserve to provide salary support for independent child care providers using a portion of the Fiscal Year 2012 budgetary surplus.

The passage of this amendment would not only provide the necessary support needed for independent child care providers, but would also avoid the very real legal ramifications that could ensue artificial unionization. Regrettably, my amendment failed by a roll call vote of 7-29.

To view the actual votes taken by the members of the Senate, please view the posted roll call votes below.

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Welcome to Tarr Talk, which is created to offer you convenient access to information about state government, public policy, and important events that are shaping the future of our state. My staff and I are working to give you timely insights into the issues faced by the legislature and the events that relate to these issues. I hope that you find this site to be a valuable resource, and that you'll visit us often for a view of what's happening on Beacon Hill and beyond.

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